Extra-Secure Institution (Extra Beveiligde Inrichting, EBI)

The prison system: background and security level

Following an increase in escapes, small extra-secure units were set up first. The temporary EBI opened in Vught in 1993; the permanent institution followed in 1997. No one has ever escaped from either the temporary or the permanent EBI.

The EBI has 24 places. An expansion of twelve places in Vught is planned for 2026. EBI places are also planned at the Vlissingen Judicial Complex, which is expected to open in mid-2030.

The highest security level is based on Article 13(1)(d) of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw). This Act sets out rights and obligations during detention. The EBI has its own model house rules. The governor must send house rules and any changes to the Minister for approval within one month.

When can you be placed in the EBI?

Article 6 of the Regulations on the Selection, Placement and Transfer of Prisoners (Regeling selectie, plaatsing en overplaatsing gedetineerden, Rspog) sets out four grounds for placement:

• An extreme escape risk, combined with an unacceptable risk to society because of the danger of further serious violent offences.
• Unacceptable consequences for society if you escape, where the escape risk itself carries less weight.
• A suspicion of life-threatening or other very serious criminal activity from within detention, creating a danger to public order or individuals.
• A general danger arising from the suspicion, conviction, circumstances of the offence or your personality, creating an unacceptable risk to society.

Under the last ground, this danger is in any event assumed if you are suspected of or convicted of participating in a criminal organisation and, according to the suspicion or conviction, you are its founder, leader or manager. The organisation must be aimed at committing offences carrying a statutory prison sentence of twelve years or more. This follows Article 140(3) and (4) of the Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht).

Decision-making and urgent cases

The EBI Selection Advisory Committee (selectie-adviescommissie EBI, SAC EBI) gives advice beforehand (Article 23 Rspog). In addition to the general rules in Articles 24 and 25, the extra safeguards in Article 26 Rspog apply:

• The proposal must include information from at least the GRIP reporting centre (meldpunt-GRIP) and the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) about escape risk, risk to society or criminal activity from within detention.
• The selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) hears you before making the decision. Your counterarguments are included in the selection advice.
• Without a unanimous recommendation for placement, approval is required from the Divisional Director of Individual Affairs (divisiedirecteur Individuele Zaken).

If there is an imminent threat of escape or a serious danger to people or property, this procedure may be departed from because of the urgency.

Extension, termination and transfer

Annual review

The selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) must decide on an extension every twelve months without waiting for a request. Eleven months after placement or the previous extension, the governor prepares a written report on your behaviour. Information from GRIP and the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) is collected and assessed through the SAC EBI.

The governor discusses the report with you before it goes to the selection officer (selectiefunctionaris). If an extension is proposed, the selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) hears you and records your objections. Information from behavioural specialists may lead to advice being sought from the Penitentiary Selection Centre (Penitentiair Selectie Centrum).

All the information and the proposed decision then go to the SAC EBI. Without a unanimous recommendation for an extension, approval is again required from the Divisional Director of Individual Affairs (divisiedirecteur Individuele Zaken) (Article 26(3) and (4) Rspog).

Eighteen months left to serve

If you have eighteen months or less left to serve, you must in principle be moved out of the EBI. Article 26(5) Rspog allows exceptions in cases involving:

• extradition or the prospect of extradition;
• a continuing unacceptable risk to society in the event of escape or through criminal activity from within detention;
• escape, an escape attempt, continued criminal activity or a serious breach of order and security in the previous year;
• information from GRIP or the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) that is still valid and concerns a real escape risk or continued criminal activity.

Transfer between reviews

New facts may prompt the governor to propose a transfer. The selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) may decide on this after approval from the Divisional Directors of Individual Affairs and of Prisons and Immigration Detention (divisiedirecteuren Individuele Zaken en Gevangeniswezen en Vreemdelingenbewaring). The SAC EBI is informed afterwards.

You can also request a transfer yourself under Article 18 Pbw. If your request is refused, you can appeal under Article 72 Pbw. You can submit a new request six months after each refusal.

Daily programme, work and leave

Under the extra-secure communal regime, group activities are possible; outside these activities, you remain in your cell. Groups consist of no more than four prisoners. Outdoor exercise, sport, physical exercise and recreation generally take place together. For security reasons, the programme changes daily.

Article 3(2) of the Penitentiary Decree (Penitentiaire maatregel, Pm) requires a basic programme of at least 42.5 hours per week, including at least 22.5 hours of activities and visits. An individual regime may apply if necessary.

Article 47 Pbw gives you the right to take part in work. The governor must make work available insofar as detention allows; security is a factor in this. If no work is available, the house rules provide for payment of 80% of the basic hourly wage (€ 0.76). According to ruling 11/4434/GA, this entitlement generally starts on the day after intake, when the work contract has been signed but no work is available.

Participation in a penitentiary programme (penitentiair programma) is excluded (Article 6(c) Pm), as is reintegration leave (re-integratieverlof) (Article 16 Rtvi). Occasional leave (incidenteel verlof) is not excluded. The Minister, rather than the governor, decides on this (Article 32 Rtvi). Transport is usually provided by the Special Support Team (Bijzondere Ondersteuningsteam); handcuffs and blackout goggles may be used.

Phone calls, visits and mail

Contact with family

Since 1 November 2025, every EBI prisoner has been allowed one ten-minute phone call per week and one hour of visits per week. Phone calls, visits and financial transactions are only allowed with contacts who have passed screening in advance.

For phone calls, contacts other than lawyers must report to a designated location and identify themselves. Within the Netherlands, there are fourteen Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) locations with designated phones for this purpose. The same conditions apply to contacts abroad, and the Minister's permission is also required. Phone conversations are stored for no more than four months (Article 23a Pm).

Visits must be requested in advance. Visitors must be on a limited list of screened visitors. Each visit may involve:

• one adult visitor; or
• one minor accompanied by one adult visitor.

Visits are always supervised; conversations are recorded and listened to. Visits may be refused. During visits, generally only the official languages of EU member states and candidate member states, Moroccan, Surinamese and Papiamento are allowed. Language restrictions and the availability of translators may also hinder contact by mail.

Visits without a glass partition

For a life partner and first-degree blood relatives, such as parents and children, this is sometimes possible once a month. Extra checks apply: visitors are searched beforehand. The prisoner undergoes a pat-down search and a strip search before and after the visit and must change clothes both times.

Further restrictions imposed by the Minister

The Minister may temporarily impose severe restrictions on communication if there are indications that contacts are being used for serious intimidation or life-threatening activities outside the institution. This is also possible if public order or safety may be at risk.

In its advice of 24 April 2025, the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) warned against general measures that leave little room for individual circumstances: these may unnecessarily subject prisoners to an overly strict regime.

Contact with lawyers

Since 1 November 2025, confidential contact has been limited to two designated legal advisers. You nominate them using the ‘Designated legal adviser’ (Aangewezen rechtsbijstandverlener) form. The lawyer confirms their role, states their Bar registration number (BAR-nummer) and returns the form.

In special circumstances, a designated lawyer may, with your consent, request a replacement from the Director-General of the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI). For a court case in another area of law, you can request an additional lawyer if the two designated lawyers do not have sufficient expertise. Confidential contact with the replacement or additional lawyer is only allowed after approval.

Mail from lawyers

Confidential, privileged mail from designated lawyers may be handed to you. Checks for prohibited items may take place in your presence. Confidential mail from other lawyers is returned with an explanation. Their non-confidential mail may be handed to you, but its contents may also be checked.

Camera monitoring during consultations

In-person consultations with lawyers are continuously monitored by camera, without sound. Documents or notes cannot be read through this monitoring. The footage is deleted immediately after the consultation, except where the consultation is interrupted and the governor ends it because of concealing or intimidating communication. The local Bar president (deken) for the district where the lawyer has their office is informed.

Checks and security measures

Professionals such as doctors, civil-law notaries, probation officers and spiritual advisers work in pairs when dealing with EBI prisoners. This two-person rule is intended to help prevent pressure, coercion and threats.

Your identity is checked on arrival and departure, including for transport, and generally before and after visits. This may involve personal details, a photograph, fingerprints or an iris scan (Article 28 Pbw). A new photograph may be required at least once a year or if your appearance has changed significantly.

Pat-down searches and strip searches

Article 29 Pbw allows searches of clothing and the body, including on arrival, departure and around visits, or when necessary for order and security. A pat-down search (fouilleren) covers clothing and items carried with you. A strip search (visitatie) also includes an external visual inspection of body openings.

Systematic strip searches are not allowed. On 4 February 2003, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the cases of Lorsé and Van der Ven that routine strip searches during weekly cell inspections violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (EVRM). The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) later accepted random searches, but the judge hearing applications for interim relief (voorzieningenrechter) required attention to personal circumstances. Random strip searches are also no longer part of EBI policy.

Observation in your cell

Article 34a Pbw permits round-the-clock camera observation when necessary for order or security, the undisturbed execution of detention, or the protection of your physical or mental condition. The possibility of major social unrest or serious damage to international relations in the event of escape or harm to your health may also provide grounds.

A decision applies for no more than two weeks and may be extended each time by no more than two weeks. This option is used only in highly exceptional cases.

Objections, complaints and appeals

You can object to placement and extensions under Article 17 Pbw and appeal under Article 72 Pbw. For EBI placement, the objection procedure may be skipped under Article 17(5) Pbw and Article 26(1)(b) Rspog.

The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) requires sufficient evidence that the placement criteria are met. An unacceptable risk to society in the event of escape may be enough, even without indications of an escape risk. The longer the stay, the more weight is given to how up to date, specific, complete and reliable the information is. This follows, among other decisions, from the RSJ ruling of 6 June 2013, 12/3910/GB: a previously established risk does not automatically justify continued placement.

If a lawyer's visit is ended, you can submit a written complaint (beklag) to the complaints committee (beklagcommissie), up to and including the seventh day after notification. If a complaint (beklag) is submitted, camera footage is deleted six weeks after the complaint deadline. You and the governor can appeal within seven days of receiving the ruling or being told of it orally. In that case, the footage is kept until the day after the appeal ruling.

What does this mean for you?

Discuss with your lawyer which ground for placement applies to your stay and whether the information is still up to date. Use the hearing to have your counterarguments recorded. Prepare family contact in advance: screening, a visit request and a designated calling location are required. When choosing a lawyer or arranging a replacement, take account of the required designation and approval.

This page draws on the expertise of Mr. S.P.C. (Stan) Broekmans, a specialist in detention law at Hameleers Antonides Advocaten. Do you have a question about your own situation? Please get in touch; an initial assessment is free.

Other topics

• Arrestant detainees
• Belongings
• Camera surveillance
• Compensation
• Complaints procedure (beklagprocedure)
• Compulsory treatment